The Asian Student Association at South held its annual May Production on May 27th for the first time in three years. ASA was unable to continue the tradition in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID. “We feel kind of disconnected. It’s kind of this new thing. But I am really excited to learn from this year and make it even better next year,” said Ezra Gearhart, the fundraising manager of ASA this year. 

Mia Lambert, who is not a part of ASA but participated in the performance as a guest artist, spoke about how it went, “I think as far as execution goes it was amazing. Being a part of it was definitely the most fun and fulfilling part.” The show included singing, dancing, spoken word, an art contest, and even a fashion show where members wore clothing that represented their cultural heritage. 

She spoke about the importance of the production to her as an Asian American. “It was really awe-inspiring to see so much of the culture that I never got to learn about when I was younger. So much Asian pride that was shown during the performance. It was amazing to see because I haven’t seen anything like that ever before.” Oftentimes Asian American history is overlooked and issues facing the Asian American community are not talked about in school. This sends the message to Asian American students that their stories are not important. “Seeing the rawness of some of the pieces like Caleb [Stipkovits’] poems that shared about the Asian American experience especially in South and Minneapolis. It was really inspiring and it made me feel a lot more proud of my identity as an Asian American,” said Lambert who wants to see this represented in the school environment in the future. 

Gearhart presented a slideshow on Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month, which is May. He discussed the importance of teaching Asian American history in schools, “I hope that it brings some new perspectives to people or at least makes them reconsider the Asian American history that they have or have not been taught in school.” He finished the presentation by declaring, “We want our presence and legacy to stop being ignored and it begins right here, in this building.”

In addition, ASA is composed of a wide range of students, from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities. However, they are able to share the collective identity of being Asian or Asian American. Who is in ASA: “ASA is made up of Asian American and mixed race people who come from all sorts of different backgrounds, all over Asia… Some people are immigrants themselves, some people’s families are immigrants, some people’s grandparents are immigrants. Having so many people from so many different backgrounds, but the shared identity of being Asian American to some degree is really important because it allows us to do things like the May Production where we can bring a whole bunch of cultures together in one showcase.” Lambert hopes it will educate others who don’t know the reality of diversity in communities like South.